Fr. Jose Lopez & Fr. Bill Evans Thursday, July 23
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Welcome to July 12, 2020 St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Manitowoc July 12, 2020 ♦ page 2 A message from Fr. Doug... Dear Parishioners, I appreciate your cooperation and participation as we return to church. It is good to see you! Thank you to all who are helping with the various ministries, especially those that have stepped up to help with hospitality. For the most part, we are doing really well on the changes, but I'd like to share a few clarifications and reminders: 1. We ask that you continue to enter through the main door and have your temperature taken. Like many places, it is a way to check on health. Note that we are using the thermometers that do not touch the forehead. 2. Please sanitize your hands as you enter church and wear your mask. Please at least hold the mask to your face for the protection of others. You may remove it once you are in the pew. 3. Communion will continue to be a single-file line down the center aisle, alternating sides, maintaining social distancing by family groups. (There will be no hospitality ministers in the center isle dismissing pews.) 4. We will continue to try to provide all the words for our songs on the screens. At the Grand site, the projector broke last week and sometimes we are short someone to operate the system at other sites. This is a time to challenge our Catholic memory...to sing what we remember and to appreciate the angelic voices of our cantors. I’m sorry to say that we are still on hold with choirs, as they would be seated too close to each other. 5. After Mass, you are encouraged to maintain social distancing and to visit with folks outside of the building. (This allows for the hospitality ministers to wipe down and sanitize the church.) 6. Please receive Communion in the hand. If you have a concern with this, please prayerfully consider what that concern is, and talk to a priest before Mass. (The directives for Phase 2 state that if the Communion distributor comes into direct contact with the communicant's tongue, they need to stop and re-cleanse hands. To insure that no one behind in line or observing are concerned about this cleansing, I ask you to receive in the hand or talk to the priest ahead of time.) 7. We are in need of more hospitality ministers to take temperatures, to help welcome, and direct people when entering the church. Please contact Deacon Mark Knipp to sign up. We are also in need of people to help wipe down the pews and door handles after Mass. 8. Please know that Bishop's dispensation from Mass is still in effect, so if you do not feel safe coming, please do stay home. We will continue to have Mass available on our Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as the live broadcast on the radio on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. (Note that the opportunity to receive Communion, for those not comfortable being in church in the pews for Mass, is directly after the 9:30 a.m. radio Mass at the Waldo site.) 9. We are not handing out bulletins until after Mass to reduce the contaminants. Consider praying before Mass and reading the bulletin online or when you get home. Our hope is to start First Communions as soon as more families return to in-person Mass. Our plan is to have just a few communicants at certain Masses, and we will be sure to share this information in the bulletin ahead of time. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding. We are working hard to create as safe of an environment as we can. The COVID-19 virus is a very real threat, and we do not want a rise of cases in our county because we did not maintain good distancing. Be safe and keep praying for miracles! Fr. Doug LeCaptain P.S. This Tuesday evening, the sheriff’s department will be using the old convent house at Waldo for training purposes. Expect some squad cars and officers in the area that evening. This is the same house that the fire department has used to train in fighting fires. Recall that we have not used this house in years as the water pipes froze and broke. Sometime soon we plan to take the house down, but in the meantime, our parish is glad to assist other agencies in their training. St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Manitowoc July 12, 2020 ♦ page 3 A note from Fr. Bill... Deciphering the Saint Benedict Medal This Saturday, July 11, is the Memorial to Saint Benedict (AD 480-547), writer of the famous Rule of the same name, Abbot of the great Italian Monastery of Monte Cassino, and founder of the religious order named for him - Order of St. Benedict (OSB). He is considered the founder of Western Monasticism. Like so many early Saints of the Church, his life story has taken on legendary status over the centuries. But underneath the legend lived a holy man, fully abandoned to the Lord, Jesus Christ, and wholly dedicated to the fight against the darkness of evil and the spreading of the Gospel of Light. Sometime later in the Middle Ages, crosses began to appear with mysterious lettering adorning the limbs. Their meaning was unknown until the middle of the 17th century when a manuscript from a Benedictine Monastery, dating back to the early 15th century, revealed a Latin prayer of exorcism against Satan that matched the letters found on the crosses. A medal was struck in 1880 under the supervision of the monks of Monte Cassino, commemorating the 1400th anniversary of the birth of St. Benedict. The lettering from the early Benedictine crosses was incorporated into the new Medal of Saint Benedict - a popular and powerful sacramental unto the present day. So, for those faithful who carry or wear a St. Benedict medal, it is important to know how to decipher all the letters and symbols. Here is the key: On the front of the medal is Saint Benedict holding a cross in his right hand and in the left, his Rule. To Benedict's right, below the cross, is a poisoned cup, a reference to the legend that hostile monks attempted to poison him. To his left, below the rule, the raven that carried off a loaf of poisoned bread from another assassination attempt. Above the cup and raven are the words Crux sancti patris Benedicti (The Cross of Holy Father Benedict). Surrounding the figure of Saint Benedict are the words Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur! (May we be strengthened by his presence in the hour of our death). Benedictines regard him as a patron of a happy death. On the back is a cross, containing the letters C S S M L - N D S M D, initials of the words Crux sacra sit mihi lux! Numquam draco sit mihi dux! (May the holy cross be my light! May the dragon never be my overlord!). The large C S P B stand for Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti (The Cross of Holy Father Benedict). Surrounding the back of the medal are the letters V R S N S M V - S M Q L I V B, in reference to the prayer of exorcism: Vade retro Satana! Numquam suade mihi vana! Sunt mala quae libas. Ipse venena bibas! (Begone Satan! Never tempt me with your vanities! What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!). Located at the top is the word PAX, which means “peace.” The Benedictine monks remind us: “The medal is a prayer of exorcism against Satan, a prayer for strength in time of temptation, a prayer for peace among ourselves and among the nations of the world, a prayer that the Cross of Christ be our light and guide, a prayer of firm rejection of all that is evil, a prayer of petition that we may with Christian courage ‘walk in God's ways, with the Gospel as our guide,’ as St. Benedict urges us” (www.osb.org utilized for this article). Praised be Jesus Christ! Fr. Bill Evans St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Manitowoc July 12, 2020 ♦ page 4 Eternal Rest to Our Loved Ones We extend our sympathy to the families & friends of: Saturday, July 11th - Weekday Kathleen Anhalt 4:00 PM G †Gordon Kopetsky 4:00 PM W †Anna Mae Marsh Catherine Nelson Sunday, July 12th - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time 7:30 AM W †Fr. Joachim Swarick May all the faithful departed 8:00 AM G †Petronella Schneider rest in peace. †James Krueger 9:00 AM M †Florence M. Duesler 9:30 AM W †Joe Kabat †Alan, Joan & Danny Wilberding 10:30 AM G †Cyrilla B. Marcus In Memory of… †Bret Carroll & James Krueger For the week of July 12th, 2020 6:30 PM W †Bernard, Helen & Bob Hein Sanctuary Candle is for: Monday, July 13th - Weekday 6:45 AM G †Paul Zeman Roland Karbon 9:00 AM W For the Parish at the Marshall Site Tuesday, July 14th - Weekday Sanctuary Candle is for: 6:45 AM G L/D Mbrs of the St. Clare Society †Betty Orth Earl Junk 9:00 AM W For the Parish 6:30 PM G For the Parish at the Waldo Site Wednesday, July 15th—Weekday Sanctuary Candle is for: 6:45 AM G †Dorothy Bieda & Verna Tuschel Special Intention 9:00 AM W †Marti O’Connor Salvator Lopez Thursday, July 16th - Weekday at the Adoration Chapel 6:45 AM G †Elerene Carle 9:00 AM W For the Parish Friday, July 17th - Weekday We still need your support for our 6:45 AM G †Joe Zimmer parish ministry †JoAnn Skarivoda 9:00 AM W For the Parish Giving Options: We are aware that your finances may be challenged in the weeks ahead.